October 06, 2010

News News News

Hi Everyone,

Again, I apologize for being away from this blog for so long, but I just can't seem to keep up with everything that's going on. Just got back from King Arthur Flour, in Norwich, VT, where we had an exciting two day workshop showcasing overnight fermentation from Artisan Breads Everyday. Have to admit, it's kind of nice being in Vermont in early October when the leaves are turning. It's like being in a living picture postcard. And, as always, the folks at King Arthur are great to work with and the pastries and breads from the King Arthur Bakery are some of the best anywhere. If you get there (and you should) be sure to order "The Russian," an amazing twisted loaf, like the Kranz Cake Babka featured in Artisan Breads Everyday, except for two differences: one is the use of hazelnut filling instead of chocolate, and the second, and this is where I totally flipped, was the use of croissant dough instead of babka dough. Wow!!!! It was fantastic, about as perfect as any pastry can be, and now I can't wait to try making babka on croissant dough. Nice work by Jeffrey Hamelman and his baking team, as well as to Susan, Michele, Robyn, and Karen of the KA education team for all their support.

I won't be teaching on the road again for awhile because I am now hard at work on my next book, along with co-author Denene Wallace, introducing a whole new kind of gluten-free baking. More on this in my next posting, and the recipe testing will probably start in December. Again, as mentioned in my last post, please do not write to me to be a tester until I post the new e-address in and further instructions. I will not take on any testers who write to me in advance of that--I'm just not ready yet to set up the template and keep a back-list. And first I will need to post all the necessary ingredient requirements and such, so you may decide not to participate after seeing those. So, please, wait till I give the green light, but know that it is going to happen--I'm very excited about this new book!

Finally, for now, good news on the Pizza Quest front: the website is fully in production, it's looking great, and we plan to launch it in early December, and will feature a new webisode from our Pizza Quest TV series every week, along with all sorts of other features and commentaries. I'll have more details as we continue to build it, so stay tuned for the official launch date and URL. We'll be filming new material next weekend in Boulder at The Fire Within Conference, where owners of mobile wood-fired ovens will gather for a two day intensive in all aspects of pizza, including a dough workshop with me. For anyone interested in this very hot trend (mobile pizza ovens as a business), check out Joseph Pergolizzi's website: www.portablebrickpizzaoven.com or www.firewithin.com